Manager of Technology and Economic Development, Sandia National Laboratories

There are several indicators I use to determine whether or not to scrap a project or idea, and I do it by asking the following questions: Is there a customer for the project or idea? Is the customer willing to pay for it? Is there a champion for the project or idea and are they willing to advocate for it or fight for it? Is there a budget or a funding stream for it? How long will the funding last? If the answer to these questions is “no,” then it might be time to scrap it.

If there is not a lot of money involved and no risk to reputation or credibility, then I might nurture a project for a while, especially if it adds value to the rest of the program or portfolio or if it is a capability or competency we are trying to develop. Sometimes good projects need time to develop. The same goes for ideas. Sometimes a good idea needs time to be nurtured.

If the idea does not “fit” within what the organization does now or wants to do in the future, it might be scrapped at that time. If it appears to have no value to the organization or anyone else, the idea is probably scrapped. This decision can usually be made very quickly.

If the idea appears to have value to the organization, there will likely be a more formal and rigorous evaluation of the idea to determine if the idea can be the basis for a successful project. For larger organizations and larger “ideas,” this usually involves quantification using spreadsheet models and some form of written plan. For smaller organizations and smaller “ideas,” this may be far less formal and may often involve the “gut feel” of an owner/entrepreneur.

Knowing when to scrap a project involves evaluating the actual current status of the project compared to the original plan. This evaluation should be done frequently. The frequency depends on the level of resource allocation over time. A project involving hundreds of people and large expenditures probably should be evaluated daily. A much smaller project could be evaluated weekly or even less frequently. The primary criterion is how much risk the organization can afford to take relative to the resources consumed since the last evaluation.

Generally, a project plan should have defined milestones that are frequent enough for the organization to recognize that the project is off track and a decision needs to be made to scrap the project or remedy the problems.

Every project needs a plan, with tasks laid out in detail. Every project also needs a budget, laid out along task lines. As you execute the plan, finding tasks that can’t be done due to external constraints, or tasks that grow to massively exceed the budget, are both signs that the chances for success have to be re-evaluated. Also, when test markets fail miserably, that’s also time to re-think the idea.

Projects that likely won’t work exhibit features that violate the laws of science, that lack market appeal beyond the inventor, that lack a champion and a leadership team, that lack an investment sufficient to reach market, or that fail to clearly address a market-perceived problem.